Hundreds of tourists came last Friday to Uluru, a famous rock formation in the heart of the Australian desert, on the eve of its ascent being prohibited.
As of Saturday, a measure that permanently prohibits climbing this gigantic monolith, considered sacred in aboriginal culture, will take effect at the request of its owners, the Anangu.
In the morning hundreds of people waited for hours for authorization to begin climbing, prohibited until 10h00 due to the strong wind.
The government agency Parks Australia said they will reassess the weather conditions during the day to determine if the climb can be authorized.
Many tourists think that climbing Uluru, also called Ayers Rock, is one of the things to do when visiting Australia.
The Anangu aborigines have revered the place for tens of thousands of years and decided to ban the rise of Ayers Rock, because " this is an extremely important place, not a playground or a theme park ."
During the last months, many tourists have come to the place to visit it before the ban enters into force.
In the 12 months prior to June, more than 395,000 people visited Uluru-Kata National Park, 20% more than a year earlier, according to Parks Australia. However, only 13% of them climbed Uluru.
The Minister of Indigenous Affairs, Ken Wyatt, has compared this influx with "an avalanche of people who would like to climb the Australian War Memorial."
"Our sacred objects, community by community, are of great importance in the history of this nation of peoples," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
On Saturday, 34 years have passed since the park was awarded to its traditional owners.
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